Stormy Nights
by x-DarkDragon-x
Summary: Caught in a dangerous storm after an arguement with Belle causes trouble for Aden, and what happens when he gets a blast from the past that haunts him both awake and in his dreams. Aden, Belle, Roman, Nicole
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Hey everyone, this is my new story, hope you all enjoy it :)**

**Chapter 1**

'Hello, gorgeous' Aden smiled cheekily as he rushed into the kitchen with the dirty dishes he had just collected. Belle smiled back before following him to start her shift.

"So I was thinking…" Belle began as Aden turned round to face her, "You know, tonight…"

"Tonight what?" Aden asked confused, they hadn't got anything planned as far as he knew.

"I thought we could…you know…" Belle stopped, her cheeks burning red at what she was implying.

Aden caught the gist of it, and inside he recoiled in horror, "Ermm…" he seemed lost for words, "Belle, I thought we were taking it slow…" he trailed off knowing that it had been a couple of months since they first got together.

"We are." She assured him smiling, "It's just… well you don't seem to want to… its' like you're not into me or something…" she looked away ashamed, afraid to see his reaction.

Aden stood there watching her stumble over her words until she got it all out, " No, I am into you Belle, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me," He smiled at her, "I just didn't want to rush you, but if you're sure… then I suppose tonight is good." Aden gulped at what he had just said especially when Belle lifted her head to grin at him,

"Great, you'll come round later then."

"Yeah sure…" Aden replied before heading off to get orders. He inwardly groaned, he'd been dreading this day for weeks but he knew it was gonna come sooner or later, maybe, he thought, maybe with Belle it'll be different. He smiled at that and focused on enjoying tonight and not letting the past drag him down.

He arrived at her house at 8pm, Belle eagerly dragged him into her bedroom; no one else was in so there was no one to disturb them.

"So…" Aden attempted to start the conversation as he looked around her room, admiring the photos of her stuck to the wall.

"Let's just get on with it" Belle suggested pushing him down onto the bed, she leapt onto the bed and began passionately kissing him while fumbling for the buttons on his shirt.

An uncomfortable feeling was beginning to rise in Aden; he could feel himself starting to sweat as the fear built up. There's nothing to be scared of Aden told himself, its Belle, its Belle… He focused on that but it couldn't stop the memories from re-emerging.

"Belle… No…" Aden pleaded as she slowly began to undo his shirt. He forced himself to enjoy it, he told himself that this was a good thing but he surrounded by the haunting memories from past…

***

_The door creaked open and a shadow cast itself on the bedroom wall. Aden watched as an 8 year old version of himself cowered under the blankets; fear burning bright in his eyes… The shadow became real as it stepped through the doorway and slowly advanced towards him…_

***

"No… Belle, Stop… Belle… S…Stop…" Aden gasped. Belle took no notice of him as she turned his head towards her so she could kiss him again. Aden returned it not wanting to hurt her feelings, but inside he felt physically sick. It was like he was reliving those dark days of his childhood again, the fear began to take hold of him…

Belle started to move her hands lower until they finally rested on his belt where she fiddled about with the buckle. Aden's breaths were coming in ragged gasps now but Belle appeared oblivious to it. Aden meanwhile seemed to be trapped in the past as he was forced to relive his darkest secrets…

***

_He pulled the covers up closer to him, a single tear falling down his cheek as his grandfather came to sit on the bed beside him._

"_Aden…" He taunted; his voice striking fear into the heart of the young boy._

"_You're useless, you know that?" his grandfather sneered. "You're weak and pathetic; no wonder your mother killed herself, just look at you!!"_

_Aden whimpered pitifully, tears streaking down his face, _

"_It… It's… not my… f… fault…" He stammered; the pain his mother's death had caused him evident in his eyes._

_His grandfather laughed, a hard cruel laugh,_

"_No, Aden. It's ALL your fault! And now you're going to be punished…"_

_Aden tried to resist but to no avail; his grandfather held him down as his hand snaked down the innocent child's body._

***

He was pulled out of the flashback as Belle removed his belt. The feeling of the scared little boy stayed with him though and as Belle went to unzip his trousers; Aden couldn't remove the image of his grandfather from his mind. He was there taunting him, telling him that he was worthless, useless, that everything was his fault. And in that moment all the anger, all the shame, all the fear that had been building up inside him, exploded.

"GET OFF!!" Aden screamed, frantically trying to push Belle away. For the first time she seemed to hear what he was saying and looked up confused. Aden quickly scrambled off the bed, grabbing his belt and shirt, replacing them on him. His breathing was rough and irregular, the fear still prominent in his eyes.

"What is it Aden?" Belle asked, she knew something was very wrong, he'd never reacted this bad to anything before.

"I…I… Can't do… do this…" Aden replied, his voice wavering as he tried to steady his breathing.

"Aden, look at me" Belle said forcefully as he maintained his gaze at the floor, he looked ashamed. Why? Belle wondered. Aden didn't move as he heard what Belle said, avoiding her eyes completely.

"Aden, what's wrong?" She asked again, concerned. He looked distressed almost, he was pale and shaking, the ragged gasps of his breathing filled the room.

"Nothing's wrong Belle!!" Aden shouted at her. His defences were up; he wasn't going to let himself be so exposed as he was before.

"Aden, obviously something is…" She looked at him sympathetically; he caught her expression and his blood boiled, he didn't want her pity, it made him feel weak.

Belle could see Aden begin to tense up so she decided to tread carefully…

"Aden…" She began softly but he cut her off.

"I… can't… s…sorry… Belle… I… c… cant…" He stumbled; his eyes held a look of unbearable pain and tears trickled down his cheek. She reached out for him but he turned and ran, leaving Belle alone and confused…

Aden kept running until he reached the beach where he stopped to regain his breath. He stood there for a moment until all the fear and emotion of the last few hours came flooding back. He'd never felt so sick in his life… well not since…

He felt the bile rising in his throat and he couldn't hold it back. He violently threw up then stumbled several yards further down the beach before collapsing in an exhausted heap. He broke down then, sobs shaking through his body, tears endlessly dripping down his face.

It was a while until Aden finally regained his composure and headed back for the town; he was going back to Belle's, he couldn't leave her just like that with no explanation, she was probably blaming herself, he had to go and explain it to her, _ALL_ of it. He gulped, the fear once again rising in him, he'd never opened up to anyone in the ten years since it began and he wasn't sure he could start now…

_He never noticed the dark storm clouds fast approaching Summer Bay…_

**Please Review :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 **

"Dad? Why isn't Aden back yet?" Nicole asked, "He said he'd be back by ten." The clock showed it was nearing quarter past eleven.

"He's probably spent the night at Belle's" Roman replied.

"But he would have called; he wouldn't leave us worrying Dad." She urged.

"Why should we be worrying? He's probably just forgotten to call." As Roman said it there was just a tiny nagging feeling in the back of his mind, _what if he's not at belle's?_

Nicole confirmed that feeling,

"But what if he's not at Belle's? Dad, the storms getting worse, what if he's caught out in that?" She questioned, looking out the window at the rain drenching the roads, the flashes of lightning streaking down from the sky, the sound of thunder booming over the bay, and in the distance the crashing of the waves onto the beach as the sea turned deadly.

Nicole didn't know what it was, she just had this feeling, something wasn't right…

"Can't we at least call Belle? Please" She begged.

Roman had never seen his daughter like this, never seen her care so much for someone before so he went to ring Belle, if only to put the doubt in his mind at rest too.

Belle answered on the second ring, she sounded like she'd being crying

"Belle, is Aden still at yours?" He asked, dreading the answer as that sinking feeling pushed itself to the forefront of his mind.

Nicole was watching her Dad while she was on the phone and when she saw his face drop after Belle replied, she knew…

"He's not??" Roman questioned incredulously, "Oh god…" he whispered though both Belle and Nicole heard him, "It's just… he's not here either…" There was a stunned silence on the other end of the phone. "Do you know when he left?" Roman nodded in reply, a worried look crossing his face, "No, don't worry, we'll find him." He put the phone down before turning to face Nicole.

"He left hers at 8.30, something upset him and he ran off."

Slowly realisation dawned on the pair,

"You mean… he's been out there for nearly three hours, and he's upset!!" Nicole exclaimed. "He could be anywhere! He could of done anything!"

"Hey, hey shhhh…" Roman murmured pulling his daughter into his embrace as she broke down with worry over Aden. "We'll find him don't worry…"

It was nearing midnight when Roman finally had everyone assembled in the Surf Club. He'd left Nicole at home; he didn't want to have to worry about her as well. He'd organised a search party but because of the storm not many people could help and the police were out of contact. The storm had affected the phone lines it seemed. Roman had seven people lined up including himself to help search for Aden, he was desperate he didn't know what he'd if they didn't find him or if they did and he… he w-was…

Roman, Alf, Tony, Hugo, Miles, Geoff and Romeo all set off from the surf club in different directions so they could cover as much ground as possible before the storm got any worse. The rain was stinging their skin as it violently lashed into them, the sound of thunder mercilessly booming all around them, streaks of lightning shot down frequently blinding them, if the storm got any worse than this, then never mind Aden they'd all be goners…

Alf and Tony set off towards the forest; Hugo, Geoff and Romeo to the outskirts of the town and finally Roman and Miles went to scour the beach. They left Irene and Belle and the surf club so they could get in touch with them via radio if any happened – provided the connection held out. Belle couldn't stay stuck at home doing nothing and Irene wouldn't let her go by herself so had reluctantly come along with her though to her relief they were made to stay and keep in contact with everyone.

Alf and Tony had been wondering around for several hours now, they had nearly covered the entire of the forest are and still no sign of Aden.

"We should head back now Alf" Tony reasoned loudly, "We've looked near enough everywhere and still not found him; the storms getting worse and we don't want to get caught out in it if it does, we don't want to create more problems by us needing to be rescued as well."

Alf nodded in agreement not bothering to shout back after he had strained to hear Tony over the noise of the storm. They turned around and headed back in the direction of the surf club.

Hugo, Geoff and Romeo dragged themselves through the door of the surf club and collapsed on the nearest seat, the storm had taken it out of them and they all looked exhausted, muddy and worried. It was clear from their expressions that they hadn't found Aden.

Tony and Alf returned just a few minutes later and when Belle looked up expectantly they just shook their heads whilst Tony murmured,

"Sorry…"

Belle felt her heart sink, she was beginning to lose hope, what if Roman and Miles didn't find him? Then what? He could be lying dead in a ditch for all she knew. She felt tears welling at her eyes and before she could stop them the slid silently down her face, the others looked on sympathetically, they knew how hard it must be for her and each and every one of them held the same fear and worry inside their hearts.

Roman and Miles had nearly covered the entire length of the beach but still no sign of Aden, the wind bit harshly into them turning the rain into tiny swords that cut through their skins, the sea crashed beside them luring them into its deep murky depths but still they carried on.

"Mate," Miles called to Roman who was several yards ahead of him, he stopped and turned towards him waiting for him to continue. "Don't you think we should head back now?" Miles asked almost doubtfully, "We're soaked and exhausted, if we haven't found him by now then…"

Roman cut Miles off with an angry expression on his face, "NO! He's not… he's not…" He trailed off tears trickling down his cheeks; he couldn't bear the thought…

"We'll find him Miles, we have to… I can't bear the thought of losing him, after everything that's happened, he's… he's like a son to me…" He pulled himself together, he'd be no use to Aden in this state, he looked over and saw Miles understand where he was coming from and reluctantly stepped forward as if to carry on. He smiled briefly at him before he returned to searching the beach.

It wasn't much longer until Roman saw something, a dark shadow of something hidden just behind a set of rocks. With his heart beating profoundly he scrambled over the driftwood and rocks until he finally reached the shadow. Miles saw him run and hurried to follow only stopping when he saw the same thing as Roman…

A lifeless figure lying face down on the ground; soaked to skin and tinged a deathly pale, blood seeped out from their head and many other wounds. There was no steady rise and fall of their chest, no signs of life in their face, no response made to anything that was happening… There was no way they could be anything other than dead…

Roman fell to his knees as he let the sobs send shockwaves through his body, his eyes never left the motionless figure on the floor and he choked out one final word before falling into Miles's arms.

"_Aden…"_


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N - Thanks fro the review :) You'll just have to wait and see if he survives ;P**

** this a short chapter sorry**

**Chapter 3**

_Flashback – _

*******

_Aden stumbled across the beach as the rain started to pound more relentlessly, he was already soaked through and shaking from the cold. He needed to get to Belle's but all his mind could think of was how cold and wet he was. The constant crashing of the waves almost next to him did nothing to help, he staggered forward as his body slowly shut down, he needed to get to Belle's, he needed to get to…, he needed to… he… he…_

_He collapsed on the sand bashing his head off a rock as he did so; he didn't even try to resist, he didn't have the energy, he just let the shadows overcome him and gave in exhaustedly to the blackness…_

_The waves crept higher and higher off the beach, throwing rocks and debris high upon the shore, sharp stones and broken shells cut into the silent figure, the rain pelting down upon him._

_It seemed that, for Aden Jefferies, there was no hope…_

***

Miles gently prised a sobbing Roman out of his arms and scrambled over to Aden. He gingerly reached for a pulse, dreading the worst. He held his fingers there for a second; worry spreading over his features until finally he felt a slow, weak beat, it was barely there. They didn't have much time; they needed to get him to a hospital soon if there was any chance of saving him.

Miles turned to see Roman still crying on the rocks,

"Roman" he called. When he got no response he tried again,

"Roman" he called, louder this time. Roman looked up at him, tear streaks visible on his unusually pale face.

"What?" He whispered so quietly Miles hardly heard him.

"He's alive" He got straight to the point; he didn't think Roman would want to be messed about.

Roman jolted up and ran over, all traces of grief gone instead replaced by worry, panic and hope.

"We need to get him to a hospital; Roman or he's not going to make it." Miles pressed.

Roman nodded before picking up Aden in his arms and starting back towards the surf club, Miles following quickly behind.

---

Roman stumbled off the beach and began up the road, struggling with the heavy weight in his arms. Miles followed, panting,

"Roman… wait…" he huffed, clearly out of breath.

"There's no time." His reply was short and curt; he couldn't deal with Miles right now, he needed to get Aden to hospital.

Roman reached the surf club and staggered inside, swiftly placing Aden down on one of the diner chairs. He then stood up, breathing heavily after carrying Aden from the beach, and turned to face everyone else.

---

They all stood there in shock, mouths hanging wide open as they looked at the frail form of Aden lying on the seat, chest scarcely moving.

Suddenly Miles burst through the door having only just reached the surf club and then turmoil broke out. Belle was the first too react, hastily moving to Aden's side and grabbing his hand before breaking down over his body. Heart-wrenching sobs emitting from her as the tears sped steadily down her cheeks. _No, please, no, he can't be… please Aden hold on. For me…_

Meanwhile Roman, having regained his breath, was getting radio contact to the emergency services since the phone lines were down. Irene approached Belle, tears trickling down her own face and gently rubbed her shoulders, offering her comfort as she wept. The rest of them, Geoff, Romeo, Tony and Hugo all stood on and watched silently, each one with reds eyes and stained cheeks as they saw the motionless body and the grieving family. Alf had gone to help Roman with the radio and they had managed to get a message through. Now all they had to do was wait…

They sat there in silence, no one finding the strength to say nothing as the faint noise of sirens sounded in the background…


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N thanks for the reviews Sarasidle13 :) they mean a lot :). Okay next chapter -**

**Chapter 4**

"Please… save him… please…" Roman sobbed as several doctors and nurses wheeled Aden into recess.

Miles and Roman were sat on the plastic chairs outside of recess, Roman had his head in his hands, tears streaming relentlessly down his cheeks, _he couldn't lose him, he couldn't…_

They had come in the back of the ambulance with Aden and were still waiting for everyone else to arrive. They needn't wait a moment longer as Belle came bursting through the doors followed swiftly by Irene,

"Where is he??" Belle panted, "Is he okay?" She turned to see Roman crying and immediately a flood of terror washed over her, "He is isn't he?" Still receiving no response, the sense of dread sunk deeper into her heart, "Tell me he's okay!!!" she was nearing hysterical now.

Roman finally looked up and through his tear stained cheeks he mumbled,

"He's in there" He pointed towards the emergency sign, "We don't know yet…" He trailed off.

Belle's heart rose and sank and the same time, he was still alive but for how long…

---

An hour of relentless pacing, endless worrying and depressing thoughts later a doctor finally emerged.

"Aden Jeffries's family?" He enquired.

Roman looked up expectantly, "Yes?"

"Are you his father?"

"No, his father's in jail, I'm his guardian."

"Would you like to come with me please?" The doctor asked kindly.

"No." Roman said, fed up with the doctor's stalling. "Whatever you need to tell me, you can tell these guys too." He gestured to the rest of the group.

"Okay then…" The doctor paused before releasing into a long list of technical words and phrases.

"Huh?" Everyone said when he had finished. The doctor sighed,

"Basically, Aden has been subjected to freezing wet conditions for a long period of time and thus has developed hypothermia and has signs of pneumonia. He also has a head injury that requires stitches and a concussion. Oh and finally he has several broken ribs. We are in the process of restoring his body temperature to normal then we will transfer him to a room and monitor him, at the moment though, he is in a stable condition."

_Hypothermia, pneumonia, head injury, stitches, concussion, broken ribs. _They were the only thoughts running through Belle's head.

"Is he going to be okay?" She asked, the strain clear in her voice.

"It's too early to tell yet we'll let you know when we know more." The doctor replied before leaving them to their thoughts.

---

It was early morning when Aden had been moved into his room after being brought in late last night. Roman, Belle and Irene had stayed, anxiously awaiting any news. Miles, on the other hand, had returned home after receiving the news the Aden was stable.

He was lying in bed; a clean white sheet covering his legs, countless wires connected his chest and arms to the many machines around the room. The slow steady rasp of the ventilator breathing for him as his lungs threatened to collapse at any moment. His pale complexure strikingly obvious compared to his usual vibrant self.

She sat next to him holding his hand and murmuring softly to him, waiting fearfully for him to wake up. Irene sat next to her, pity and grief burning in her eyes as she looked at the pale, ill figure lying in the bed, you would think he was sleeping if it wasn't for the tube down his throat and the steady beeping on the heart monitor behind him.

Roman sat on the other side of him; his head lolled to one side, the events of the night had caught up with him and dragged him into the realms of sleep. Irene too was beginning to give in to the weariness that had hovered over her all night only Belle stayed awake, not wanting to leave or sleep in case anything happened.

'_Stable' the doctors had said. Were they mad? How could they call this stable, he was lying in a coma with a stupid flipping machine breathing for him because his lungs couldn't take it, stable was he??_

She leaned closer to him and whispered so as not to disturb the other two who were now fast asleep in the chairs.

"Aden," she murmured, gently stroking his hand in soothing circles. "Please, baby… wake up, I need you, Roman needs you, he's falling apart here, come on pull through for us, for me…" She ended, then leant forwards and gently kissed him on the forehead.

---

BEEP-BEEP-BEEP

_Urghhhh… I must've fallen asleep…_

Belle slowly opened her eyes to see Roman and Irene stirring but that wasn't what grabbed her,

Aden was thrashing about on the bed, his heart monitor going crazy.

Her eyes went wide as doctors and nurses rushed in and hurriedly ushered them out,_ "He's fitting! Get a line in now!"_

All she could hear from outside the room were the urgent shouts of the doctor and they were what chilled her to the bone…

"_He's crashing!!"_

…


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

She sat by his bedside, tears streaking down her face and forming a puddle of the floor.

"No, please, no…" She cried as they pulled her away.

"They got to take him, Belle. You have to let him go." Irene urged.

They wheeled his motionless body out of the room and down the hall as the trio looked on…

"God!" Roman exclaimed, breaking the silence. "Nicole!!"

"What about her?" Irene asked, worried.

"I've haven't told her, she doesn't know, I've left her all night worrying, how could I forget?" He moaned placing his head in his hands.

"Shhhh…" Irene comforted, rubbing his back gently, "You had a lot of things on your mind, I'm sure she'll understand but call her know, she needs to know."

Roman nodded and set off for the exit so he could use his phone. Belle meanwhile slunk against the wall and slowly slid down it until she was on the floor where she broke down as the morning's events caught up with her.

***

"_He's crashing!" _

"_Charging 120, clear…"_

"_Come on Aden!!"_

"_Charging180, clear…"_

"_1…2…3…4…"_

"_Inject him with 10ml of saline and morphine"_

"_Charging 240, clear…"_

_Beep…beep…beep…_

***

_He was alive, just, his lungs had collapsed and once they revived him, she had all of 2 minutes with him before he was rushed to theatre. He had to make it, he had to._

She sobbed silently into Irene's arms as she was pulled into a hug.

---

"Where is he?!!!" Came a shout from down the hallway as Nicole came crashing through the doors frantically.

"Woah, woah, slow down" Roman cautioned as he pulled her into a hug, "He's in theatre at the moment; we've just got to wait now."

"Why? What happened Dad? You didn't explain anything over the phone just that Aden's in hospital." She looked up at his tear stained face and a sense of dread filled her. She gulped, "Dad?..."

Roman took a deep breath then listed off all of Aden's injuries and conditions,

"He's got hyperthermia, has symptoms of pneumonia, a severe head injury and concussion, several broken ribs, his lungs are threatening to collapse and he just crashed, they think he has internal bleeding that's why they rushed him into theatre."

Nicole stood there shell-shocked, the reality and severity of the situation finally sinking in. _Aden could die…_

Roman looked down at his daughter who now had tears freely running down her cheeks and felt a pang in her heart,_ I forgot, Aden's like a brother to her, why didn't I tell her sooner? _He inwardly groaned before turning his attention back to Nicole as she began to speak.

"Why, Dad," She said between sobs, "Why didn't you tell me earlier? Did you think I wouldn't care? Dad, I know we argue a lot but he's like a brother to me, how could you not tell me?" She looked up at him with red blurry eyes, disappointment and hurt etched into her tear streaked face.

Roman's heart sank, _Oh God, what am I meant to say to that?_ "Sorry Nic, just with everything going on I forgot, I was out of mind with worry."

Nicole got angry at that, "Oh what, and I wasn't? For all I knew Aden could've been lying dead in a ditch somewhere, at least you knew what was happening!!" She screamed at him hysterically.

"Sorry…"It was all he could say.

Suddenly Nicole burst into a new round of tears,

"No-o Dad, I-I'm sorry, I was just w-worried, I understand w-why you didn't c-call me straight a-away, I-it's alright." She sobbed.

Roman, taken aback by his daughter's sudden outburst, just pulled her to him and hugged her tighter.

***

Three hours later, Belle, Irene, Roman and Nicole were sitting in the waiting area worried out of the mind, when two nurses wheeled an unconscious Aden back into his room followed by a doctor.

"Hey!" Roman called getting up to face the doctor, "What's going on, is he alright?"

Three other worried faces looked up at the doctor as he started to speak,

"The surgery was successful, he had internal bleeding and one of his ribs had punctured a lung so breathing will be hard for him for a while but it should heal just fine, he'll have to stay on the ventilator until he wakes up but after that it should be okay just to put him on oxygen. He's unconscious at the moment, but that's just the after effects of the anaesthetic, it should wear off soon though. You can go in and see him now."

The four of them all visibly relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief before entering Aden's room and taking places around the bed.

_He looks so peaceful when he's sleeping _Belle thought moving closer so she could gently stroked his bruised cheek,

"Hey, baby, you gave us all a right scare, I'm just glad you're all right, what would I do without you." Then she leaned over and lightly kissed his bandaged forehead.

"Urghhh…"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"_Urghhh…"_

"Aden?""Aden?" came shouts from the four surrounding the bed, _owww… please don't shout, my head hurts…. Ughhh actually everything hurts. _Aden opened his mouth to speak, but stopped when he realised he had a tube down his throat. _What the hell? Whys that there? Ughhhh can't breathe…_

Belle leaned over Aden waiting eagerly for him to stir properly when he suddenly started choking on the ventilator,

"Oh God! Get a doctor quick!" She almost screamed. Roman stuck his head out the door and called for a doctor while Irene attempted to soothe Belle.

"Hey Girly, it's alright, Aden's gonna be fine, shhhhh…."

The doctor came in a few seconds later and removed the ventilator so Aden could breathe on his own without choking.

"B-bell-e" he murmured, his throat dry and hoarse, she leaned in to hear him, tenderly stroking his face while so.

"Shhh.. baby, what is it?"

"W-w-wat-ter" Aden choked. Roman reached over to the bedside table and poured a glass of water before handing it to Belle who gently helped him sip it.

Once the water was got rid of, Aden began to speak,

"B-Belle… I-I'm sorry-y" He managed to say. Belle was taken aback by this.

"What for?"

"F-for running o-off on you-u like that w-without any r-reason" Aden replied.

"Shh… don't worry about that baby, we'll talk later for now I just want you to get better, Oh I'm o glad your okay" She smiled reaching down to pull him softly into a hug taking care not to hurt his ribs.

---

A few days later and Aden was finally released from hospital, the hyperthermia had worn off and the pneumonia never fully developed. He still had a bandage wrapped round his head, his chest was sore and breathing was quite difficult, but apart from that he was well on the way to recovery.

They reached Roman's house and while Roman was grabbing the bags out from the boot, Belle helped Aden out of the car and into the house. He gently lowered himself onto the sofa once he was inside; gasping slightly with the pressure it put on his ribs and lungs.

"You okay, babe?" Belle asked concerned when his face scrunched up in pain.

"Y-yeah, f-fine" Aden panted, sinking back into the cushions.

Belle stood there with a half amused, half disapproving look on her face,

"Don't try to fool me, it's obvious you're in pain, so stop being stubborn and let me get you some painkillers."

"N-no, I-it's alr-right, I'll g-get them" Aden moved slightly to get up only to drop back down on the sofa as a wave pain crashed through his chest, he lay there panting while Belle looked on.

"Hmm, you sure about that?" She asked before walking off into the kitchen.

"Hey! Where are you going?" He called after her just as Roman and Nicole walked through the door.

"Look who I found at the Diner" Roman smiled at Aden, indicating Nicole, "Nic came back with me straight away seems she couldn't wait to see you."

"Shut up, Dad" She snapped, Roman smirked. Nicole went over to Aden anyway,

"How you feeling?" She asked, "I'd give you a hug but with your condition I might just break you"

Aden growled, "Nic…"

"What?!" She exclaimed innocently, "I was only joking."

Belle came back into the room holding a glass of water and two small pills,

"It took me forever to find these, what exactly do you keep in your cupboards?" She asked Roman.

"Well, you know…"

Belle just shook her head and sighed before kneeling on the floor next to Aden and handing him the items. He took the pills and popped them in his mouth before downing them with a gulp of water.

"Ughhh" He made a face, "That doesn't taste nice at all."

"It's not meant to silly, don't want you getting hooked on the stuff, do we?" Nicole put in.

Aden just glared at her.

"Umm… well everyone, it's been a long day, I'm going to take Aden to bed, he needs his rest." Belle said.

"Oooo" Nicole squealed.

"Not like that Nicole." Belle sighed and with that helped Aden up off the sofa and towards the stairs.

---

Arriving in their bedroom, Aden immediately collapsed on the bed trying to stem the pain rushing through his lungs.

"Babe?" Belle asked, it was obvious the painkillers hadn't kicked in just yet.

"I-I'm fine, j-just give me a m-minute." He wheezed.

"Okay, come on let's get into bed, it's late and you must be tired."

Aden just nodded sleepily while pulling the covers over himself; Belle joined him after changing into her pyjamas.

---

The sun shone through the window waking the two of them, Aden grumbled and turned over to go back to sleep forgetting how much it hurt,

"Ahhh!!" He gasped, clutching his chest in pain.

"You alright?" Belle asked now fully alert at the sound of her boyfriend's pain.

"J-just turned, t-that's all, f-forgot" He lay on his back now slowing bringing his breathing back down to normal.

Belle let out a small laugh and shook her head then leaned over to kiss him good morning, Aden, having got his breath back, gladly returned it but doing so brought back memories of the night of the storm, he needed to explain some things.

"Belle," He said, breaking the kiss, "There's something I need to tell you."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N thanks to the people who had reviewed so far, i really appreciate it :) keep 'em coming :D**

**Chapter 7**

"_Belle," He said, breaking the kiss, "There's something I need to tell you."_

"What is it?" She asked, surprised by the way he suddenly broke off from her.

"You know the night of the storm…" Aden started. "Where I ran off on you, I-I need to tell you why."

"Shhh, no, it's okay just concentrate on getting better first." She said while gently stroking his face.

"No, Belle." Aden replied firmly, "I need to tell you, it'll help you understand; I never meant to run off on you like that, I didn't mean to hurt you, I love you."

Belle smiled, her heart warmed by his words,

"Okay, what do you want to tell me babe?"

Aden took a deep breath and began, his voice shaking slightly.

"You know when you started to undress me," He paused for a moment and Belle nodded, "Well it- it brought back memories." He sighed and looked up at Belle as she asked,

"What sort of memories" She sat crossed legged on the bed facing him, holding his hands in hers.

"When I was younger my Dad always used to get drunk and-and then Mum-m k-kill-led her-rself-f and…" He shakily took a breath, tears forming at the corners of his eyes as he remembered his darkest and most hurtful memories, before carrying on. "And then Dad-d's drinking just got w-worse until he couldn't take care of me and my brothers so-o he got m-my g-grandf-father in to take c-care of u-us and he…" He stumbled over his words.

Belle sat there horrified of how his childhood was like, and his Mum… she couldn't imagine how badly that affected him at such as young age but the worst was yet to come.

Aden started speaking again having regained some of his composure, "When Dad would go o-out to the pub or to a meeting, he-e" He stopped when he saw Belle's confused look, "My-y g-grandf-father," She got who he meant now so he carried on though tears were in the verge falling, Belle was worried that whatever he needed to tell it wasn't going to be good…

"He-e used to come into o-our room when-n we were a-about to go to s-sleep and-d and he-e would-d," Aden stopped, wiping at his eyes and taking a few shaky breaths, Belle stared in horror, a sense of dread filling her, _Please, please let it not be what I'm thinking…_

"H-he would t-tell me-e that I was u-useless and-d that it was m-my fault that-t my m-mum ki-illed-d hers-self a-an-nd…" He was on the verge of breaking down and Belle had a feeling that wasn't all he had to tell,

"And-d that I-I was the-e one t-that should-d be-e d-dead." He stooped and gulped a load of air into his lungs that refused to cooperate; tears were now streaming freely down his face,

"T-then he'd-d throw o-off the c-covers and-d t-take o-off my c-clothes and-d I'd t-tell him t-to stop, I d-did Belle b-but he n-never listen-ned and-d I-I wasn't s-strong enough-h to p-push h-him off and-d it h-hurt so-o much-h, I'd lie t-there a-after c-crying m-myself to s-sleep, I-I was s-so ashamed-d and-d then t-the other-r night i-it all j-just came flooding-g b-back a-and I-I couldn't-t t-take i-it B-Belle" He broke down violently sobbing into her arms after that, heart wrenching cries emitting from him, floods of tears falling down his cheeks, soaking Belle's blouse. She just held him and let him cry it all out as he vividly relived those terrifying and painful years.

Belle sat there gently rocking Aden in her lap as he cried, she was stunned, _it wasn't what I was thinking, it was much, much worse, his grandfather messed with his mind and violated his body, it's a wonder he's still sane. How could anyone go through all that and be okay, but then looking down at the broken boy – boy not man, in front of me I saw that Aden wasn't okay, he was broken and I'm not sure I can fix him. How could he do that to Aden though? How could anyone do that to another human being, it was sick beyond belief and on a child?? A child that couldn't have been more than seven or eight at the time and it went on for years??, god I don't know how Aden handled it, I feel sick at the thought but to have actually gone through all that, no wonder he ran off from me, god what had I been thinking, I've probably made everything worse._

"Shhh…" She murmured in his ear, tenderly stroking his hair as his sobs gradually died down and he gasped in the air his lungs so desperately craved. Belle knew how much it must hurt, the amount of pressure his breakdown must have put on his lungs and her heart hurt for him wishing that she could take even the smallest amount of his pain away because it would make all the difference…

**Please Review :)**

**xx**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

_The water swirled all around me, dragging me down deeper into its depths, I tried to swim upwards but something seemed to be holding me down, I struggled and screamed only to swallow mouthfuls of water, I was choking, I couldn't breathe…_

"_You deserve this Aden, after what you made your mother do, you deserve to die a slow painful death…"_

_I shivered, no… no not that voice again, please anything but that…_

_My lungs were threatening to burst; there was nothing I could do as I pulled swiftly downwards by an unseen force, manic laughter in the background haunting my thoughts, no please…_

_That was my last thought before the darkness came crashing down and took me away, forever…_

***

Aden shot up straight, gasping for breath, _no, why does he have to come back, I thought I was rid of nightmares for good and now they've only seem to got worse._

"Babe?" Belle asked sitting up in bed after his reaction woke her up. When she got no reply she looked at him and saw pure undiluted wild terror bright in his eyes,

"Shhh… Aden, it's okay, your safe, shhhh" She comforted, she didn't know what his nightmare had been about but after what they had talked about earlier she had a pretty good guess.

After Aden had calmed down Belle asked,

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, I'm fine," Aden replied exhaustedly.

"You're not," Belle countered, "Obviously something's disturbing you or you wouldn't have reacted like that." Aden shot her a glare but she carried on regardless, "Was _he_ in your nightmares," When Aden turned a shade paler she knew she had guessed right, "It's alright Aden, I'll help you, you don't have to go through it all on your own."

"I don't need help; I've told you, I'm fine." He replied, colour flooding back into his face as he began to get angry.

"I don't believe you Aden, I know what you're like, you need help but you won't accept it; please Aden, please for me, let me help you."

Her words struck deep in his heart, she was right he did need help but years of pushing everyone away he couldn't just start now, what was he supposed to do?

"Just go Belle," He whispered, pushing her away like everyone else, "Please, I just want to be alone, I need to think." He looked up at her with confused pained eyes and she knew not to push it any further he needed to think through by himself so she gave him a kiss on the cheek before turning and leaving the room.

---

_Why… why did I have to push her away, the only one that really cares about me and I treated her like everybody else, I wish I could change, I wish __**it**__ never happened, I wish __**he**__ never existed, then we wouldn't have a problem, God my life's such a mess. Belle's right as well, I do need her help just after this long of saying no I can't bring myself to accept, to accept it would mean to give in, to show weakness and I can't do that, it would be like letting him win, urrgh what am I gonna do?_

Aden sat on the bed pondering over these thoughts when he heard Roman call him from downstairs so he reluctantly got himself up and dressed before dragging himself down the stairs.

Everyone was sitting at the table eating breakfast when he got there; Roman was the only other one dressed, Nicole and Belle were still wearing their pyjamas. Aden grabbed himself a bowl of cereal from the counter and sat down with the others at the table.

"So, everyone sleep alright?" Roman asked, the other three nodded; Belle shot Aden a disapproving look as he did so, she knew full well he hadn't slept well at all, he just shook his head slightly back at her, he didn't want anyone else knowing. Belle had got it right earlier, it was his grandfather that was troubling him but that wasn't all, after his near-death experience with the storm his dreams were now haunting with drowning and both of them combined, it was no wonder he reacted like that earlier.

"You two doing anything today?" Roman asked Belle and Aden.

"No, why?" Belle replied, taking a piece of toast from the pile and buttering it.

"I'm taking Nic into town today and I just wondered if you two wanted to come along?"

"Nah, you're alright, we might just go to the beach or something; you two go and have fun, good luck." She replied, laughing at the thought of Nicole taking Roman round the shops, he was in for one long day. Roman chuckled,

"Right, well this should be fun, come on then Nic," He said while getting up from the table.

---

Once they had gone Aden and Belle were left alone and this time there was nowhere for Aden to hide.

"So have you thought about things yet?" Belle began.

Aden sighed; there was no way he was getting out of this now,

"Yeah, ummm"

"Here, let me help, what were your nightmares about?"

Aden gulped, straight to the point she was,

"I was drowning and being pulled down by something then I-I heard him, he-e told me I s-should die-e because of what happened to Mum-m and it was my fault-t and I was finally getting what-t I deserved."

Belle stared at him, shocked she knew his nightmares were about his grandfather but she didn't realise that his recent experience with the storm would affect him either. Aden looked close to tears so she moved round to his side of the table and pulled him into a hug, murmuring comforting words into his hair, he didn't even try to resist, just willingly relaxed into her arms revelling in the safety and security the represented.

---

It was the same as last night, the water, the pulling, the voices, only this time the dream was so much more vivid, as if he was there again and a disturbing presence that only made it much more horrifying.

***

_The water swirled all around me, dragging me down deeper into its depths, I tried to swim upwards but something seemed to be holding me down, I struggled and screamed only to swallow mouthfuls of water, I was choking, I couldn't breathe…_

"_Aden…" the voice called. Huh? What was that?_

"_Aden…, come here" There it was again, that voice, I recognised it from somewhere but I couldn't quite remember…_

"_Aden," the voice had turned from sickeningly sweet to angry and violent."Come here or you will pay."_

_The water seemed intent on making me die a slow, painful death as I was still alive s I got pulled deeper and deeper until I could no longer see the sunlight shimmering on the top on the water. The darkness surrounded me welcoming me into its depths but something was keeping me from entering._

"_Aden…" The voice called again, "Come here, you need to be punished, you've been a bad, bad boy…"_

_Oh God!! I finally recognised the voice, No not him, please anything but him._

_The darkness finally won as it swept over me but it seemed I was not free from my demons there as his face flashed as clear as day in front of me, his evil eyes gleaming…_

***

He screamed.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N - _sorry for the lateness guys, exam and coursework, how fun :/ anyway here's the next chapter :)_

**Chapter 9.**

Belle shot upright in bed after a blood-curling scream awakened her, she turned to see Aden thrashing about in his sleep, his face scrunched in pain and terror, terrified whimpers and screams emitting from him.

Suddenly he bolted upright, sweat pouring down his forehead, his breathing shallow, fast and ragged. His face still held that same terrified haunted look and his eyes burned with long-held pain.

"Aden?" Belle asked, worry seeping through her voice, she gently placed her hand on his shoulder but pulled back when he violently flinched away. _Oh no, he's had another nightmare about __**him**__, what am I going to do? Look at him, he's a mess and he won't let me in._

That wasn't Belle's main worry at the moment though, Aden's breathing was still not under control, it was worse than before and Belle realised he was hyperventilating, she had to do something fast, before he passed out.

"Shhh... Baby, shhh… it's okay…" Belle murmured gently into his ear, placing her hand on his shoulder, holding firm when he tried recoil from her.

"Aden… I'm not ever letting you go so stop trying please; baby, just relax, you're safe here."

Aden tense muscles loosened up slightly as he recognised Belle was next to him, not the horrid presence from his nightmare but, try as he might, his breathing was racing out of control and nothing he did could rein it back in. He was starting to panic now which only served to make it worse and his only lifeline in all of this was Belle whispering words of safety and comfort into his ear and her soft, gentle hands rubbing away the tension in his chest. He still felt restricted though and attempted to remove his tight vest top that clung to his muscled chest.

Belle was interrupted in her massaging of Aden's chest when he struggled to remove his top; she grabbed hold of the bottom and helped him throw it off. He gulped in air in an attempt to regain his breathing but it was like he was sucking in nothing, he still gasped furiously trying to get the much needed oxygen back into his deprived lungs.

Running out of ideas, Belle shuffled of the bed, cringing internally as Aden immediately got worse the second she left him, and rummaged around on the shelves until she found what she was looking for, a discarded brown paper bag that had been left lying around, she remembered seeing it recently. She returned to the bed and placed the paper bag over Aden's mouth and nose before beginning to mumble into his ear again to coax him into breathing, slowing the sound of his inhaling and exhaling through the paper until it sounded less strained and hard and became more easy and relaxed. Some colour had flooded back into his cheeks and he was breathing gulps of air in without a problem restoring health to his rundown lungs.

"Thanks babe." Aden rasped gratefully, his throat still hoarse from before. Belle sighed thankfully; _he was going to be okay_, settling into his now relaxed chest.

"Anytime," She smiled up at him, "I'm just glad you're okay, you had me worried there; I thought I was going to lose you." A hint of sadness crept into her voice at the end, one that Aden didn't hesitate to pick up on. He hugged her tighter to him, rocking her slightly in his lap.

"I'm not going anywhere babe, I'm sorry I scared you, I scared me too." He laughed slightly, the scariness of the situation not quite worn off. Belle turned her head to look at him and was about to speak when the door burst open revealing a tired, grumpy looking Nicole and a worried Roman.

"Everything okay in here?" Roman asked, letting a sigh of relief when he saw no one was in any danger.

"Yeah, everything's fine." Aden replied.

"What? You got me up at 5o'clock in the morning for this!" She exclaimed in outrage, "I need my beauty sleep you know!" She turned and was about to storm back to her room when Belle stopped her.

"Wait!" Nicole paused while Belle looked tentatively at Aden, silently asking permission to tell them. He gave her a slight nod of his head before sighing deeply and resting his head n her shoulder.

"No, everything's not fine; well… it wasn't a minute ago. I woke up and Aden was having a nightmare, he woke up a few seconds after but he seemed to be trapped in that world still and his breathing was all over the place, at first I thought it would return to normal but then it just seemed to be getting worse so I found a paper bag and made him breathe into that, then finally it got better and he started to relax." Tears were starting to form in the corner of her eyes, "I… I thought I was gonna lose him, I was so scared." Belle buried her face into Aden's shirtless chest as Roman and Nicole looked over, faces strained with worry and guilt respectively.

"I'm sorry" Nicole whispered, "I didn't realise."

"It's okay Nic." Aden reassured, his face contorted with grief and sorrow, the events of the morning were catching up with him as his eyelids began to droop. Roman seeing this said,

"Come on Nic, let's leave them to sleep, they've been through a lot." He ushered her out the room before turning back to Aden, who was on the verge of sleep with Belle dozing happily in his arms,

"You'll be okay, mate?" Roman asked concerned.

"Yeah-h…" Aden sleepily nodded.

Roman exited the room, shutting the door just as he saw Aden fall back asleep on the bed, Belle resting comfortably in his arms.

It was late morning before Belle and Aden had awoken, she'd then rushed around in a panic as work started in less than 30 minutes leaving Aden to rest as he had only recently got out of hospital. Belle got there just in the nick of time and was ordered out into the diner immediately, collecting and taking orders from the hungry lunch-time customers.

It was late afternoon when Belle got off, Aden was still at Roman's and she planned on going there afterwards; she wanted to go back to the beach house first and catch up on a few things.

She was rounding the last corner thinking about what had happened earlier, she was worried about Aden, he was having nightmares often now, but none of his reactions had been as violent as the one earlier, she just hoped they didn't get worse. She stepped out into the road on the last crossing she had to make before reaching the beach house; her mind racing with events from before, she never realised what was happening;

Never realised the speeding car zooming towards her,

Never realised the terrified look on the driver's face as they tried to brake in time,

Never realised that today could've be the last time that she ever saw Aden,

She never realised until it was too late…

_Please review :)_

_x_


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"Roman?" Aden yawned, having only just got up, he had slept through the day after hardly getting any sleep the previous night.

"Yeah mate?" Roman replied, looking up to see a slightly perkier looking Aden stumbling down the stairs.

"Where's Belle? She's usually back by now." He asked, a trace of worry lining his handsome features.

"I'm sure she's fine, she's probably just gone back to the beach house for a bit; she'll be here soon. Anyway what's got you so worried? You're not usually like this." Roman asked, returning to the counter where he was preparing dinner.

"I know…" Aden sighed, "It's just… I've got a bad feeling, I dunno why, something just doesn't feel right."

Roman gulped, hoping he was wrong, the last time someone had a bad feeling, Aden was found half-dead on the beach. "She'll be fine, look, if she's not back in an hour, we'll go look for her." He looked up to see what Aden's response would be; he looked deep in thought but nodded slightly in reply. "How are you feeling anyway? You looked pretty rough earlier"

"…Yeah, I'm okay, sorta." Aden distantly replied, and Roman sighed knowing he wasn't alright, he was still in pain, it wasn't that long since he had got out of hospital and now he was plagued by nightmares.

"Name?" One of the nurses asked as the casualty was rushed through the hospital corridors.

"Belle Taylor, 19 years old, involved in RTC; side of car hit her as she was crossing the road, unconscious from arrival, most likely from hitting the ground more than the actual impact." The paramedic listed off.

"Right." Rachel nodded, she was the doctor in charge of Belle's case, "Get her into recess and do a full body and head CT scan, an x-ray for any internal damage, and give her 10ml of morphine, I'll be back in a minute." She called to the doctors and nurses rushing to Belle's side.

"Hey," Kelly, the receptionist called as Rachel rushed down the corridor and round the desk, reaching for the phone. "What's got you all worked up?"

"I need to call Aden, Belle's just been brought in." She replied breathlessly, hurriedly dialling Roman's home number.

_RingRing…RingRi…_

Roman reached the phone first as he was closer, but both of them had instantly dived for it the moment they heard it ring, desperate for an news, it had nearly been an hour since Aden had wondered where Belle was and as the growing feeling in him got worse by the minute he couldn't help worrying what had happened to her. A few more minutes then he and Roman were going to go out and look for her.

"Hello" Roman answered as soon as he picked up the phone. There was a reply on the other end before Roman started speaking again,

"Oh, hi Rachel, what's up?" He asked as Aden watched him intently, as soon as Roman said Rachel's name, his heart dropped and suddenly he was drowning in the sinking feeling that had been threatening to consume him all evening.

His worst thoughts were confirmed when Roman's faced suddenly dropped and shock filled his eyes.

"We'll be right there." He finally replied before hanging up and grabbing the car keys.

He turned to Aden,

"Aden, we gotta go mate, Belle's in hospital, she was hit by a car."

_No…_ He sat there in shock, although he had already known it from the minute Roman answered the phone, hearing him say it just made it all so real and he couldn't deal with that.

"Is… Is she okay? I m-mean… she's not d-dead…?" He asked, pure pain burning in his eyes as he looked up at Roman, causing him to grimace at the sight of it.

"I don't know mate, Rachel didn't tell me anything other than that she had been hit, come on, the sooner we get there, the sooner we find out."

With that Aden dragged himself off the sofa and followed Roman out the door, dreading what lied in wait for him at the hospital.

"There's no sign of any head trauma and her scans came back clear. She got a few cuts and bruises from where she hit the floor but other than that she's physically fine, she's just lucky she only got hit by the very edge of the car and not a full on impact or it could have been much worse." The nurse explained her condition to Rachel who had come to see how Belle was doing.

"She's still asleep, it's her body's way of coping with the shock plus the fact that judging from the bags under her eyes she probably needs it. She'll wake up when her body's good and ready, until then you'll just have to wait." The nurse finished, Rachel nodded before heading back to reception, she was expecting Roman and Aden pretty soon; in fact she didn't even get to the end of the corridor before she knew they had arrived.

"Where is she?" Aden shouted at the receptionist after she had ignored him the first few times he had asked. That finally got her attention and she turned to him,

"Who?" She asked worried about the way the young man in front of her was reacting, he seemed on edge and panicky.

"Belle, Belle Taylor." He panted, having run straight from the car the second Roman pulled to a halt with fractured ribs and a sore chest, but he didn't care he **had** to know.

The receptionist turned to the computer searching through the records and was about to reply to Aden just as his attention was captured by Rachel hurrying up to him,

"Aden!" She exclaimed.

"Where is she? Is she okay?" He asked quickly, the panic he was trying to hide seeping out through his wavering voice.

"Yeah, she…" Only Aden didn't hear the rest, he was staring straight past her down the long corridor, eyes focused on something far away.

_No… No, No please no…_

His breaths came in short gasps as reality sunk in, the world started to spin around him and he could faintly make out Rachel asking if he was alright but he couldn't concentrate on anything, it was all too overwhelming. The breath had been knocked out of him, he fumbled round for something to grab onto as he suddenly felt faint. His chest was tight and restricted, sharp pain shooting through his already aching ribs and weak lung; his vision was blurring before him, though one image was still as clear as day before him. Then suddenly he was swimming in the darkness, trapped in his own nightmare, screams and terrified whimpers surrounding him.

"Aden?" He heard both Rachel and Roman call before collapsing to the ground as his whole world went black, his one last thought,

_No, it can't be…_


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

_Peace… finally. He was floating along the surface, his body and mind calm and relaxed. Finally rid of all the horrific memories, he wished he could stay here forever; but he knew that wouldn't be the case, he'd have to go back sometime, he would have to deal with everything and as much as that thought scared him, he knew he didn't have a choice…_

"Aden? Aden? mate can you hear me?" Roman shouted as the panic threatening to break out from within him slowly seeped into his voice. _What had happened? He was fine one minute then all of a sudden he had just collapsed._

"He's not breathing!" Rachel announced as she leaned close to his face to check his vitals. "Can we have some help here? Get him into recess! Now!"

The waiting area became a bustle of panic and confusion as doctors and nurses rushed to Aden's aid. They got him loaded onto a trolley and wheeled him swiftly into recess.

"Right! Get him on 100% oxygen and give him 10ml of saline." Rachel commanded as she checked his heart rate and blood pressure, they were alright for now, he was still with us…

"Uhhh…" She opened her eyes slowly, her entire body was aching and she wondered where she was until all the memories came flooding back. The car racing towards her, she being powerless to move until it knocked her into the hard tarmac surface. That was the last things she remembered, she looked around seeing white-wash walls and beeping machinery, _I must be in hospital, God! Aden must be so worried._

"Belle? Belle?" A voice called from the side of her bed. She turned to see Irene sitting there, her forehead creased with worry. "You okay, darl?

"Y-yeah…" Belle croaked out, her throat dry and hoarse. Irene smiled sympathetically before reaching over to the table and pouring a cup of water for her. She handed it Belle, who reached up to take it with a shaky hand and sipped it slowly, relishing the cool, refreshing feeling it gave her as it slid down her throat.

"God darl, I was so worried about you when the hospital called, thank goodness it's only a few cuts and bruises; when they said you'd been hit by a car, I thought the worst, it's such a relief your okay." Irene smiled at her, relief shining in her eyes replacing the previous worry that had been there as she was waiting for Belle to wake up.

Belle smiled back, but a hint of confusion was on her face as she looked around the room for something, someone…

"Where's Aden?" She asked.

"I dunno darl," Irene replied, "I was wondering that too, usually he'd be the first to get here." Seeing Belle's worried and confused face she hastily added on the end, "I'm sure he's fine girly, he probably got caught up in traffic or something."

"Yeah… probably…"

_I loved it here, the peace and serenity of it all, but now, as it slowly faded it front of my eyes I knew it was time, time to go back and face my demons, face the horrors that awaited me, I didn't want to, I wanted to hide away forever, to stay in this peaceful little place and never set foot among the terrifying memories and nightmares that haunted me so, but as the last little bit of that peace faded away leaving me to wake up to a cold, dark world, I knew it wasn't my time._

"Aden?" Rachel called as she saw his eyelids flutter slightly, "Aden, can you hear me?" She repeated Roman's words from earlier hoping to get a response this time.

"Uhhh..." A faint mumble could be heard through the oxygen mask and Rachel grinned as Aden opened his eyes and looked up at her confusedly.

"How'd I get here?" Aden asked, removing his mask to speak, although his lungs burned the second his oxygen levels were lowered, he quickly replaced it, waiting for Rachel to answer.

"I don't know Aden," She stated, confused. "I was hoping you could tell us. You just collapsed on us, you stopped breathing which was rather worrying considering you already damaged lungs; it certainly hasn't helped your recovery of them. Do you know why it happened?"

Aden shook his head as he racked his brains trying to remember, he didn't take the mask off again, just relied on actions, the feeling of his lungs burning wasn't something he really wanted to feel again.

"Okay," Rachel nodded, "I think with the shock of it all, your brain doesn't want to deal with it just yet; it should come back in time though, let me know if you remember anything, I'll send Roman in, okay?"

Aden nodded still trying to remember what would have made him collapse like that and end up lying here on a hospital bed.

Rachel walked into Belle's room to check on how she was doing and see if she was awake yet. She opened the door and was surprised to see Belle sitting up in bed, a dejected look on her face with Irene next to her, comforting and reassuring her.

"Hello Belle, how are you feeling?" She asked concerned, wondering if she was in any pain.

"I-I'm fine." She replied, barely meeting Rachel's gaze.

"You're not in pain anywhere?..."

"No-o…" Belle stifled a sob, she was in pain, only none of it was physical, how could Aden leave her like this, didn't he care at all, and she had thought they had worked through their problems and were now a firm, strong couple in which nothing could get in the way of.

Rachel nodded, glad that her injuries seemed to be only superficial and that they should heal quickly, allowing her to leave the hospital soon.

"Belle, are you okay?" She asked softly.

"No! Why would I be?" Belle almost shouted, her anger at Aden seeping through, "Aden doesn't care that I'm in here, or he'd be here wouldn't he? Nice to know how much I mean to him!"

Rachel's mouth dropped open, _she didn't know, no one had told her._

"Belle…"

"No! Don't go making excuses for him; I got hit by a car and he can't be bothered to even visit! Fine! I don't care anymore!" She interrupted, tears leaking out of the corner of her eyes, she did care but at the moment she was just _so_ angry at him, and she wasn't sure she could forgive him.

"Belle just listen." Rachel sighed. When Belle lifted her head up to glare at her, she continued, "Please…"

Belle nodded reluctantly, she might as well here what excuses Rachel was about to make up for him, not that it would make any difference at all.

"Look, Aden would never leave you here like this without good reason you know that." Belle just kept glaring, "As soon as he got the call he came, he was hysterical when he got here Belle, he couldn't stand the thought that you'd been hurt…"

"What? He was here then he just left! Great." She muttered sarcastically, "It's just keeps getting better, heard I was okay then just left did he, couldn't be bothered to stick around eh? , I'm not worth the effort, he had more important things to be doing did he? Like hanging out with little princess Nicole, I bet she enjoyed his company." It was low and she knew it, but she was jealous, she was jealous he had such a good relationship with Nicole and was scared that one day she'd take Aden away from her; she wouldn't be surprised if that was where he was anyway.

Rachel looked at her sternly,

"Belle! Will you just hear me out before you start judging anybody?" Looking at the furious glare in Rachel's eyes made Belle mellow out a bit and she calmed down, nodding for her to carry on. "Like I said Aden rushed here looking for you, but when I was talking to him just before I was about to bring him down here, he stared off down the hallway at something then all of a sudden he freaked out and collapsed, he wasn't breathing Belle." She was still annoyed at Belle for slagging Aden off when he cared about her so much and was worried about her, it wasn't his fault that he'd ended up in hospital instead of just visiting; but Belle, being so stubborn hadn't even given anyone a chance to explain. Her expression softened when her words had registered in Belle's brain and shock filled her face while guilt burned bright in her eyes. She was about to speak but Rachel interrupted her and carried on with what she was saying,

"He's alright now though his breathing is rather painful without extra oxygen, we don't know what caused it and Aden doesn't seem to be able to remember, though we hope that his memory should come back soon. Does that answer your questions?"

Belle nodded tears in her eyes as she finally realised why Aden wasn't sitting next to her holding her hand, how could she have been so selfish, she had thrown all these accusations at him when all along he'd had been worried about her, he had come as soon as possible only he was now stuck in a hospital bed as well.

Belle gulped, feeling rather guilty; "Can I go see him?" she asked.

"You feeling okay mate?" Roman asked as Aden laid his head back against the pillow, an arm flung over his face, confusion etched into it.

Aden sighed and sat up slightly removing his arm from his face and instead pulling the oxygen mask off so he could talk.

"Yeah… sorta… not really…" He confessed, "I've thought and thought, but I dunno why I collapsed, it's been bugging me and it's just _so_ annoying *sigh* why can't I remember anything!" He flung his head backwards in frustration and let out a deep breath, which he immediately regretted as a burning pain spread through his lugs, he hastily replaced his mask and visibly relaxed as the oxygen soothed his pained lungs.

Roman looked at the young lad in front of him sympathetically, he'd once had temporary memory loss himself when he was younger and he understood how frustrating it could be.

"Just relax Aden, it'll come back to you in time," Although inside, he wanted to know what had set Aden off just as much as the lad did himself. "So, since we came here for Belle…"

He never finished the sentence as Aden sat bolt upright, Roman's word's triggering something in him; suddenly it was all coming back.

"Belle?" He breathed frantically, almost ripping the oxygen mask off in his hurry to ask roman, "I-Is she okay?" His breathing was laboured and Roman was worried he was about to hyperventilate, he made Aden sit back and replace the mask before replying, slightly happier when his breathing pattern returned to normal.

"Yeah mate, don't worry; just a few cuts and grazes, she'll be fine, it's you I'm worried about, when you collapsed, you looked like you'd seen a ghost."

The relief flooding through Aden when he heard Belle was okay was torn to shreds when he heard Roman say the last part. _Seen a ghost._ His breathing quickened even with the extra oxygen as the memories he had been searching for flooded his mind almost to quickly for him to comprehend, seen a ghost, It was Roman's words that had triggered his memory because that was what he had felt like, seeing a ghost, and he couldn't believe it had happened, couldn't believe that it was all real; but here he was lying in hospital with dreaded memories coming back to him, so something must have happened. As that terrifying moment when he had seen it replayed itself he felt like had then, his chest was tight and constricting and fear gripped his mind. He breathed out strangled rasped gasps as he struggled to regain any sort of normal composure.

Roman watched on worriedly as a battle of Aden's emotions seemed to be taking place, it was obvious that he had got at least part of his memory back and whatever it was; it was causing some disturbing effects. His worry reached a peak when Aden started hyperventilating and there was nothing he could do since Aden still had the oxygen mask on, instead he stood up and rushed to door.

"RACHEL!" he screamed, hoping that wherever she was she could hear him, he got strange looks off the other patients and even off some of the staff but he didn't care, all he cared about was Aden.

She heard Roman's urgent scream and knew something must have happened to Aden for him to react like that; she took off down the hallway towards recess with a worried Belle and Irene in tow.

She got there to find a pale, distressed Aden hyperventilating in to the oxygen mask although it didn't seem like he was actually taking in any oxygen; his gasps were still ragged and laboured. Roman stood next to him, gently rubbing his back hoping to relieve some of the tension, concern flashing in his eyes as he watched Aden struggle to breathe.

She didn't know what had set Aden off for him to react as violently as this, but now wasn't the time for questions; that would come later, first she had to find some way to slow down his breathing. She went over to one of the machines and turned the oxygen back up to 100%, it had be turned down after Aden had regained consciousness, she hoped that the extra oxygen would help calm him down and allow easier breathing, his lungs were already damaged, this extra strain on them for the second time that day would do him no favours at all.

Rachel looked back over at Aden and was relieved to see his breathing sound less harsh, it was still a little ragged but was slowly getting better; the panicked look on his face had diminished as well once he had found that he could get some air into his aching lungs. Belle was sat on the bed, holding his hand, a look of care and adoration is her eyes although they still held the guilt from earlier. Irene was sat in the chair next to bed, with Roman on the other side, gently reassuring Aden.

She went over and stood at the end of the bed before addressing Aden,

"Something must have put you in that state, so I'm assuming you remembered what happened?" She asked cautiously, not wanting to panic Aden further.

Aden shook his head, not trusting his voice just yet, he had remembered, he knew why he had collapsed, but he didn't want to relive it, anyway they wouldn't believe him, he hardly believed it himself, he wouldn't have if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes.

Rachel didn't believe him, something had happened but whatever it was Aden wasn't going to let up about it anytime soon.

"Right, okay, I'll leave you four alone then, I'll be back later to check on you Aden, and Belle you should be able to be discharged tomorrow morning," She said before exiting the room leaving the occupants to talk.

"_You didn't think you could escape, did you?" A menacing laughed pierced his thoughts causing him to shrink back in terror, if there was one thing he had been scared of in his life, it was that voice, the one that haunted his dreams, that scarred his memories, that controlled his life._

"_Aden? Answer me boy!" The voice demanded and then he ran, he ran faster than ever before, he ran as if his life depended on it but still it wasn't enough. _

"_Don't try to run, you know I'll catch you, and don't try to hide either, I'll find you and when I do…"_

He never heard the end of that threat as he bolted upright in the hospital bed, gasping he reached for the oxygen mask next to him and took a few deep breaths. Slowly he looked around and realised he was all alone, Belle had gone back to her room and Roman and Irene had gone home and even though he knew they would be back in the morning he had never felt more isolated and alone than he felt in that moment.

He sat shivering on the cold mattress, his bed covers loosely wrapped around him; he'd tried to go back to sleep but the memory of the nightmare was still fresh in his mind and with that there, he had no chance of getting any more sleep that night, so instead he just sat and thought, wondering if he did really see it earlier or if he was just hallucinating. He was deep in thought when suddenly a shadow appeared it the doorway, he looked up expecting it to be one of the nurses come to check up on him but was horrified by the sight that met his eyes, his heart rate rocketed and his breathing quickened to the point of hyperventilation as he let out a strangled whisper,

"No, no you, it can't be you…"


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

"Wha… wh.. ho… w…" Aden stuttered, completely stunned. _This wasn't happening, how could it be happening? It wasn't possible._

"Speak up Aden, I can't hear you." The voice is the doorway drawled. Aden shivered, the cold menace in it ripping through him.

"Ho….bu… but… y-your… d-ead-d?" Aden stammered, pure undiluted fear shining in his stormy eyes. _He had died_ _three years ago, I was 15 and it was one of the happiest days of my life, finally after 7 years of torment, finally it was all over. I wept of course, seven years of pent up emotions came flooding out only everyone thought I was grieving for him, for that monster, I let them believe that, never revealing to anyone what had actually happened. But my tears were tears of relief, at last, after seven long years I was free and now… now I was catapulted back in time, to that dark era of pain and fear, I thought it was all over, but I now I see that it's only got worse…_

"Dead? Dead Aden? How could I be dead? You haven't paid for what you did yet, I couldn't die before that could I?" The shadow smirked, a malicious glint in his cold, stone eyes that sent shudders through a terrified Aden. The boy sat frozen in fear, eyes locked onto the shadow,

"Bu….but I-I, y-you… w-we b-burie-ed … f-funeral-l" His eyes were wide in terror, disbelief, confusion and denial evident in his face.

"No, you silly boy." The shadow laughed, "I never died; well that's rather obvious, but the authorities were beginning to suspect something, you boys were running wild and it seemed that you were going to be taken away from me, now we couldn't have that could we, me never seeing you again, so I faked my death and took off, biding my time before seeing you again, then today all of a sudden, there you were… perfect."

Aden could barely begin to take it all in and process it, but as he finally got round the fact that his worst nightmare wasn't gone forever like he had originally thought and his breathing began to quicken as the shock wore off, the shadow stepped forward into the dim light…

_His grandfather…_

His heart monitor started going wild, beeping furiously as the doctors on the night shift were alerted, one of them being Rachel. She came rushing to Aden's room, pausing at the doorway when she saw someone else there, Aden watching them in a mad state of panic.

"SECRUITY!" She screamed out the doorway, alerting the figure to her presence, they turned and gave Rachel a glare that if looks could kill, would have had her drop dead on the spot. The man, she now saw once he had turned around, bolted on the spot and nearly got away with it as well except that two burly guards had just approached, responding to Rachel's earlier call. They caught him at the door and though he struggled as if his life depended on it, he couldn't overpower the two and was incapacitated until the police arrived.

"Aden?" Rachel asked, approaching his bed. His eyes were wide with fear, his breathing short, ragged and quick, sweat was dripping down his creased forehead and his hands were gripping the bed sheets so tightly Rachel thought he might rip them.

"Hey… hey, shh… calm down…" She soothed while placing an oxygen mask over his face to relieve his strangled breathing. It took a while before his breathing slowed enough for Aden to speak so Rachel just waited, gently soothing him, before she started to ask any questions.

"You alright now?" She asked, satisfied that his vitals had returned to normal, when she received a nod of the head she continued,

"Right, I'll be back in a sec, I'm just going to call Roman, okay?" She went to leave only to be grabbed by Aden's shaking arm. She turned back to him,

"No-o… please… d-don't leave… me-e" He panted, the fear returning to his face. Rachel sighed; he was scared that the man, whoever he was, was going to come back.

"Aden… I'll only be a minute, and he can't get you here, you're safe." Seeming to accept her words slightly, Aden relaxed and let Rachel go though he still seemed tense and afraid. Rachel was back in no time, and Aden visibly relaxed once he saw it was her and not his grandfather.

"I've called Roman, him and Belle should be here soon." Rachel told him, "Now who was that man?"

"No one…" Aden murmured, turning away slightly so he didn't have to look Rachel in the eye.

"Aden…" She warned, "Don't lie to me; obviously you knew him or you wouldn't have been so afraid or reacted that violently."

Aden shook slightly and one lone tear dripped steadily down his face,

"He w-was… my-y… m-my… grand-d…. f-father…" He stuttered just as Belle and Roman entered the room. All three of them stood there in shock at what they had just heard, each of them having been told about the abuse at some point.

"B-but… He's d-dead…?" Belle asked, "Isn't he?" Aden nodded, more tears having leaked from his eyes,

"I thought so…" Then finally the weight of the whole ordeal laying heavily down on him, he broke down in tears as Belle rushed to his side while Rachel left the three alone and went to find out if the police were here.

When she got outside, the police were already waiting for her, having Aden's grandfather handcuffed in front of them. She explained who he was and what he'd done to the police and watched as they took him away. She stared after them as they left down the long corridor; tears springing to her eyes as she thought,

_Life can be so unfair…_


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N sorry for the long gap, i will try and update more often :) thanks to everyone who has reviewed/alerted/favourited the story, it really means a lot :) xx hope you enjoy and please review :) xx**

**Chapter 13**

Belle led Aden inside with Roman following behind having retrieved bags from the car. Aden had been released later that day once Rachel was satisfied his breathing was under control and no more panic attacks had emerged.

"You okay babe?" Belle asked as Aden sunk down into the sofa, the day's events obviously taken its toll as his eyelids began to droop.

"Yeah… just tired" He muttered sleepily before closing his eyes fully. Belle smiled at his sleeping form before entering the kitchen to talk to Roman,

"Why isn't Nicole here? I haven't seen her for a few days." She asked.

"She's gone to stay with her mum for a while, give you and Aden some space to recover plus she hasn't visited her since she came to live with me." He replied while searching the cupboards for ingredients to dinner.

"Oh," Belle said, "What are we having for dinner then?" She asked, lost for anything else to add.

"I'm doing a chicken and thyme dish with carr…" He never finished the sentence as terrified whimpers were emitted from the living room.

"Aden!" They both screamed at once rushing into the room to see what the matter was.

When they entered, Aden was curled up in the corner of the sofa, arms wrapped protectively around himself as he whimpered and cried out in his sleep. His face was contorted in pain and a lonely tear had snuck out from its cage, gently trickling down his cheek.

"Aden." Roman said while placing a hand on his shoulder to calm him down; only it had the opposite effect. As soon as the contact was made Aden violently flinched away, retracting further into the sofa as his murmuring's became louder and more understandable,

"No... no… please no… go away, pleaseeee… no… I don't- no…"

Roman looked at Belle worriedly, it seemed the encounter with his grandfather had affected Aden greatly and it would take a long time to heal from that.

Belle moved slowly towards Aden and placed a hand on his shoulder, keeping it there even when he recoiled away from it.

"Shh… shhh… babe it's alright, he's not here it's just me and you and Roman, come on, wake up, shhh…" She gently murmured, relieved when Aden seemed to relax slightly and his muttering's died down slightly.

"That's it, you're safe here, he can't get you, he can never get to you again, shhh… you're safe baby." She continued while soothingly rubbing his shoulder. It seemed to have worked as his body relaxed and his eyelids started twitching as he slowly returned to the real world. Aden sat up sleepily, bags under his eyes a reminder of the restless nights, and looked up at Roman and Belle.

"You alright mate?" Roman asked, relieved the nightmare had ended.

"Yeah… I think so" Aden replied running his hand through his hair and sighing deeply.

"Aden, I think you should go see a counsellor." Belle sprung on him a few days later, his nightmares had got progressively worse and he got not more than four hours sleep a night, heavy bags had formed under his eyes which held the pain and terror of his dreams in them.

Aden spun round from where he was standing to glare at Belle, anger bubbling in his face.

"What? You think I'm some weak mongrel that needs help, I don't! I'm dealing with it Belle, I don't need some stupid shrink!" He shouted at her before stomping up the stairs.

"I was only trying to help, I tried my best but you need professional help, why can't you admit it." Belle whispered to herself as a door slammed upstairs.

_His hands snaked everywhere; I shrunk back into the mattress trying to get as far away as possible, confusion and terror sweeping through me as this monster advanced upon my eight year old self. He whispered supposedly comforting words in my ear that only made this nightmare worse, I couldn't escape, I tried I really did, I kicked and I scratched, I bit and I screamed but it was no use. He was too strong and my Dad didn't care, he must have heard he was in the room next door, but no; no one came to comfort young Aden, Sean was in prison, Justin had long since run away, Dad couldn't care less so I was left with only one person. The one who messed with my emotions, made me feel the guilt of my mother's death, violated my young body. But he was right it is my fault Mom died and I should pay no matter how much it hurts or how much it terrifies me. I deserve this._

Belle awoke to the sound of heavy breathing and looked over to see Aden tossing and turning in bed, sweat dripping down his forehead while his hands balled together so tightly Belle was sure he was cutting into the palm of his hand.

"I deserve this… I deserve this… I deserve this..."

Belle's heart broke when she heard those words, he didn't deserve it, no one did but still he held on to all the guilt and the shame. He needed help because until he let go even just slightly he could never recover.

Roman walked into the living room carrying dinner.

"Here you go guys; you deserve it after helping me with the kitchen earlier." He said before placing the plates on the table in front of them and heading back into the kitchen to grab his own. Belle picked up her plate immediately and started on the gorgeous roast dinner Roman had cooked for them but Aden didn't move, just sat there in stony silence staring straight ahead.

"Aden?" Belle asked in between mouthfuls. "Come on babe, eat something." She got no response.

"_You deserve this you know. It's all your fault, you killed her and now you have to pay, you deserve this. You deserve thi…"_

Aden broke his silence as the panic rose within him, he clutched the arm of the sofa tightly while his breaths came short and fast, his eyes never moved though locked straight ahead, lost in forbidden memories of the past.

"Aden?" Belle put down her dinner and turned to his panicking form just as Roman re-entered the living room. He stood there shocked in the doorway, wondering what on earth could have set him off like that.

"It's okay… It's okay…. Shhh…" She reassured Aden, rubbing his back. "What happened Aden?" She asked, a concerned tone to her voice.

"I… I d-deserve it-t" He whispered between panicked breaths, it so quiet Belle hardly heard him. _That nightmare the other night, he said that then, this guilt, it's eating him up and there's nothing I can do…_

"No, no Aden, it's not your fault, nothing's your fault, you didn't deserve any of it, you've done nothing wrong."

For a split second Aden recovered, his eyes switched from the past to Belle taking in her words and for once she could see some relief perhaps even happiness shining in his eyes, but then just like that it was gone, his eyes turned back to terror filled stone, glazing over as he remembered, his body still locked in the panic.

Belle sat on her bed alone; Aden was at the diner with Roman.

_I don't know if I can take this anymore, all these panic attacks and nightmares, I know he needs me but I'm drained, he's suffering and it kills me. _

Another doubt was also forming on her mind,

_Does he even love me anymore, I 'm not sure, it doesn't seem like it and to be honest why would he?_

_I love him but…_

_I don't know if I can cope with this much longer…_


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: I apologise for the stupidly long gap between updates, I've had this one written for a while but kept forgetting to upload it. Anyways enjoy! and please leave feedback :) **

**Chapter 14**

_Uhhhh… what now?_ Belle turned over in bed to see Aden's shivering form as he battled his demons in sleep, _another nightmare… I feel so sorry for having to go through all this, but I just don't know if I can take much more of this, I'm worn out every single day – the lack of sleep is getting to me. And the hours… the endless hours of supporting Aden, reassuring him, comforting him – its draining, I mean really draining, it's sucking the life out of me and I know he needs me right now but I really don't think I can handle this much longer, he needs help – proper help nit just me and Roman but I know he won't take it so what else can I do?_

"Shhh… babe come on, you're safe here, let go babe, shh…" Belle whispered into his ear.

Belle and Aden were sitting on the couch watching television when the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it" Called Roman from the other room. Belle heard him and stayed seated =, her eyes focused on Aden who had stiffened almost immediately when the doorbell rang. _He's so paranoid, thinking that every little knock, every little creak is his grandfather coming to get him, he needs help – he really needs help… but he won't listen…_

"Hey Irene, nice of you to pop by, how are you doing?" Roman asked as he opened the door.

"Fine love, good to see ya, just thought I'd come round and see how all yous lot are doing"

_That's it, I can't handle this anymore, all these flinches every time somebody touches him, the freezes when the door goes, the nightmares night after night after night…_

_I've gotta go for my own good, as much as I love Aden for once I have to put me first, I can't deal with this, he needs a counsellor and I know I've said this thousands of times before but that's because it's true, he does he just won't accept it. _

_Anyway I've decided, I 'm leaving tonight – I'm going to stop at Irene's, give me some space to clear my head and catch up on sleep, I'm knackered – and I know Aden has it worse, believe me I know that but I just… I just can't handle this anymore…_

Belle had hoped to leave without a fuss, she had packed her things earlier in the day when everyone was out and was going to sneak out the house quietly while Roman was busy making dinner and Aden was in the shower. She had her hand out the handle of the front door when a voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Belle, what are you doing?" Came a tired voice from the top of the stairs. She turned to see Aden standing there, wrapped in only a towel having freshly exited the shower. She stood for a moment to admire him, his perfectly toned stomach and bulging muscles in his arms, knowing that it may well be the last time she could do such a thing, before looking up into his eyes and replying.

"I'm leaving Aden."

There. That's it. That one simple sentence. And it brought Aden's world crashing down around him. He stood there frozen to the spot as his brain tried to process what she had just told him._ What? No… no… she wa- no… but- how… I don't underst- no…_

His words came out pretty much the same,

"You… how- , what… tell me you're jo- no… rea- pleas… god…" He ran a hand through his wet hair before finally choking out,

"You're-e l-leaving…?"

Belle kept eye contact with him and nodded slowly. Once. And then she saw it. All of the anguish and heartbreak and betrayal that shined in his troubled eyes. She mentally cringed, feeling terrible for adding to his list of problems; but, to her, there was no other way.

One nod. That was all it took. What was left of Aden's world, that last thread of hope he had been so desperately clinging onto, snapped. And then he was truly alone, swimming in a field of blackness. Haunted dreams and memories dragging him deeper, and this time there was no light at the end. Nobody to pull him free. No Belle to save him.

Belle took one last look at his tortured expression before turning and walking out the door, walking out of the house, walking out of his life…

…Forever?


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

_No… she can't be- no… just- No. No. No. No. No. it can't - …can it? No. Please no. No. No. No. _I sighed. _Yes. She really was… I had to accept that, didn't mean I had to like it though._

_I was still swimming round in the darkness, I had no idea to escape, my saviour wasn't here anymore so I just floated, let myself drift away into darkness, just waited until it faded, if it faded. Because I had no idea, I had absolutely no idea how to surface from this so I did nothing, just drifted… away… further… further…_

Roman heard the door slam and exited the kitchen to find an empty living room, confused he looked up at the stairs and was shocked to see Aden frozen at the top, his once lively eyes turned stone black – hard and still, like the rest of his body. There was no emotion in him, no movement, no nothing, he just stood there like a statue and Roman knew his mind was trapped somewhere else.

Belle had gone, it was the only conclusion, Aden was acting strange, he couldn't hear anyone else and the door had slammed, Belle was the only other one in the house while Nicole was away, and since Aden was frozen Roman assumed Belle had left for good.

He felt anger grow in him now,_ how could she? She knew the problems Aden was having at the moment and she just left? I understand it must have been hard on her, hell it was on all of us but you didn't see me legging it out the door. Okay so Belle had to deal with Aden more than I did but Aden was definitely worse off and although he pushed her away whenever the counsellor was brought up he tried, he really tried to stop himself, to let her in to what he was feeling and it was a big step for him, I know he doesn't feel comfortable letting people in but he did, for Belle, because he loves her and what does he get in return? She left; she just left, leaving him standing there. She hurt him; I can see it and I don't know if I can forgive her for that…_

Roman was pulled out his thoughts as he heard the front door bang open, he looked up expectantly waiting for Belle to walk through. He was surprised, when instead Nicole did.

"Hi Dad!" she squealed, running up to him and giving him a hug, dropping her bags in the process. Roman hugged her back letting out a sigh of relief that his daughter was finally home and also that it wasn't Belle who had walked through the door. He wasn't sure how he would have reacted if that had been the case.

Roman released Nicole from the hug and she stepped back, in doing so saw Aden standing at the top of the stairs motionless, one hand gripping the banister, knuckles turning white. She turned back to Roman,

"What's happened? Why's Aden like that?" Nicole asked, a tinge of fear lining her voice.

"Belle left." He sighed, "I don't know why, I guess she just couldn't cope, he's been like that ever since." Roman motioned towards Aden. "He's not responding, he's not focused on the present at the moment, I hope he comes back soon, it's beginning to worry me." He sighed again.

"WHAT?" Nicole shrieked. "Belle left him? Why? How? Wha- how could she do that?"

"I don't know Nic, she knew how hard a time Aden's going through, he needed – needs her support, I don't know how he's going to get through without her; she was his light, his saviour. We can be there for him, help him in every way but it's just not the same. I can't believe she left though, no matter how hard it is for her, Aden needs her and that's all that should matter." Roman vented, his anger at Belle finally coming out. Nicole just nodded, her face etched in anger after hearing that, her eyes burning only mellowing slightly as she looked up at Aden's frozen form.

"Girly? What are you doing here?" Irene exclaimed as Belle entered the beach house, slamming the door behind her, her eyes glistening slightly.

"I-I left Aden" Belle breathed out, clutching onto the side for support.

Irene stood there speechless, "You… I… why… how… Why Belle, why?" She eventually asked.

"I'm sorry Irene, but I just couldn't take it anymore, it was just too high maintenance, I love him but…" She trailed off, tears gradually falling down her cheeks as she struggled to keep from crying.

"Darl, come here." Irene said softly, patting the sofa next to me. She waited until Belle had sat down before speaking again,

"Now… Tell me all about it…"

_Blackness…_

_Still I was lost, no way out, no reason to even try. But slowly I could feel the numbness ebbing away, the long infinite blackness no longer calm and peaceful, pain was attacking the sides, making my heart ache and pulling my body into agony. It stabbed at me again and again, its hold unforgiving as I flinched away and cried out, only it wouldn't let up – I was stuck here, in this once calming darkness now alive and burning with pain and misery. I needed to escape, I had no reason to, but anything was better than this hellhole, anything…_

Aden was still frozen at the top of the stairs, it had been several hours since Belle had left and while Roman had originally left Aden there, understanding he needed time and space, he was beginning to worry about his son's welfare. Nicole was sitting on the sofa, eyes blankly watching the television, he could tell she was itching to do something, anything to help Aden; she hated this, same as he did.

He got up slowly, deciding that Aden had been left alone long enough and that if he hadn't recovered in his own time by now it wasn't likely he was going to. When he approached Aden at the top of the stairs he gently placed a hand on his forearm, only he wasn't prepared for his reaction.

_I finally found a way out; a hole in the cavern, what I didn't expect though, was for the pain to follow me, stabbing ruthlessly at me, tearing me to shreds. I was almost free when suddenly my arm burned. It had a hold of me and wrenched me back to reality much quicker than I wanted to, and as my eyes lost the blank stare they previously held and the stairs finally returned to their rightful place, all of the agony locked away in my mind crashed over me._

The moment Roman put his hand on Aden's arm he violently flinched, his eyes focused back on reality and for a second Roman thought he was okay. Until Aden collapsed that was. The waves of pain, misery and despair consuming him as he folded into a ball at the top of the stairs. His once empty eyes now burning bright with agony, it hurt to look at them, to see the pain he was feeling. He trembled furiously, tears cascading down his faces as his shaking hands wiped at his startling red eyes. Sobs racketed his body as he struggled to keep quiet, terrified whimpers and screams bursting forth from him. Belle's exit had left Aden distraught, alone. He struggled for the surface, for a road to recovery… for a reason to survive. And then, not for the first time that day, Aden let the darkness consume him…


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N I'm terribly sorry that this took so long, I've had it written for a while but I kept forgetting to upload it "/ I didn't have much feedback either so no real incentive to upload it either. This will be the last chapter, it's not where I intended to end it but I lost all inspiration a long time ago for this and it is very unlikely that I will ever write more for this. It does end in a way that is suitable, I haven't left it totally unwrapped. I will warn you know that the ending is a lot darker that originally intended as it was just going to be a event that happens but as it goes it's now the end. Anyway I hope you enjoy and thnk you to everyone who has read and reviewed this. :)**

**Chapter 16**

_The once peaceful darkness had gone, as soon as I entered the abyss agony ripped through me, my heart felt like it was being torn apart – literally. My eyes burned from their sockets, horrified pain filled screams emitted from my mouth, terrifying me. It seemed that the feelings I was experiencing while awake had returned with a vengeance while asleep – emotions turned into pain, it would be a long and agonizing night._

"Aden?" Roman's concerned voice echoed through the hallway. He mumbled a response back not caring whether he heard him or not, then turned over to attempt to go back to sleep – it was painful, intensely so but at least then he felt alive, that he actually felt something unlike now as the numbness had totally consumed him, unable to feel, unable to think straight.

"Aden?" he heard again, louder this time. Aden let out a defeated groan and dragged himself out of bed and stumbled down the stairs to the kitchen where breakfast was waiting.

_Nicole was here? When did she get back? Uhh. Must have been yesterday – I was quite out of it._

Upon seeing Aden, Nicole let out a squeal, happy to see he was awake and responsive unlike last night, and practically bowled him over in attempt to hug.

Aden returned the hug, smiling slightly before seating himself at the table and mindlessly eating the cereal placed before him.

_Is there any point? My love is gone? My sole reason for attempting to stay above the dangerous waters that I could so easily slip under, why shouldn't I , she left me and if she left me what does that show? That I'm a useless broken charity case that no one even wants to go near. Everyone would be better off if I wasn't around. I'm a nuisance, a pest and everyone hates those._

"Belle?" Irene called, peeking her head around the bedroom door. "You okay darl?"

Belle slowly lifted her head up and nodded slowly showing Irene her tear-stained cheeks. At this, Irene went over to the bed and pulled Belle into a hug.

"Oh darl, you really do love him, don't you?"

Belle meekly nodded, fresh tears sliding down her face.

"Do you regret leaving him love? I've never seen you so upset." Irene asked.

"Y-yeah, I love him to bits Irene – it was j-just so hard, but now I wonder what this will have done to him…" Belle quietly replied.

"Oh love, I know it's hard, just get your head around it first and see where to go from there, and as for Aden he's got Roman and Nicole – they'll make sure he's alright."

"I'm going for a walk, I need to clear my head; I'll be back later okay?" Aden stated as he walked past Roman and Nicole on the sofa to the door.

"Wait…" Roman shouted after him, but it was too late as the only reply was the door slamming shut once again.

Aden wondered down the costal path, deep in thought, he just needed to get away for a while – it was overbearing in the house, the constant feeling of being watched, to see if he slipped up, had a breakdown, they were ready to spring into action at the slightest notice. He sighed, his head was so messed up – Belle had left him and that left him without a purpose – he needed here, she was his life ring, without her it was just _so _easy to give in to the darkness.

_Should I have left him? Was it really worth it? It seemed so hard to cope with at the time, but I could have got through it – Aden was coping with it and he had it so much harder than me, I wasn't experiencing terrifying nightmares every minute of sleep was I? And now that I've left, Aden's going to be falling apart – if he does anything stupid it'll be all my fault. I'm so stupid…_

Belle sighed and got up from the sofa, where she had been mourning in self pity, to prepare some lunch. She was really regretting leaving Aden, it was without a doubt the single most stupid decision of her life, but she couldn't take it back now.

Aden was still turning over thoughts in his head, dwelling on them – it was getting on in the afternoon and he knew Roman would be expecting him back soon but he just couldn't bring himself to face them just yet, he needed more time. As he had been walking along the costal path Aden came across Jump Rock, it had a nice little hollow hidden at the side – perfect to hide in and have some time alone from the world. Aden was debating whether to stay there or begin to head back when he felt a splash of water on his face – it had started to rain. Within seconds it was pelting it down and Aden was getting soaked, he could hardly see the path in front of him the rain was that heavy – that decided it for him. He crawled up into the little hollow, allowing him to think about the past couple for days while he waited for the rain to subside.

_Great, rain. I'm gonna be here for a long time I guess, it's not showing any signs of letting up. Roman's going to be so worried… Is he really? Some other part of me asked. Does he really care about you? Or did he just take you in – the charity case – to make himself look good; caring resident takes in troubled schoolboy – looks good doesn't it? He doesn't really care does he, I believed it – he didn't care – I mean why should he I'm just a worthless rat, why would anyone want to know me? I cause trouble, I mean look at Belle – things got so bad she ran away. What a worthless scumbag I am, I didn't deserve anyone to care about me, I didn't deserve to even walk on the shores of this world. A lowlife like me? Why I didn't even deserve to exist._

It was still raining heavily but Aden exited the little hollow, getting more drenched by the second but he didn't care. He had a determined look etched on his face, his eyes burning with agony, despair and self-hatred. Slowly he walked up to the top of Jump Rock, and cautiously peered over the edge. He gulped and trembled slightly, memories of the night he nearly died in the storm returning to him. Images of him drowning, stranded below the surface unable to break free swarming through his mind – but maybe that was what he wanted – to be unable to escape, sinking slowly into the endless darkness – at least then he would be free.

He slowly took a step forward until he stood on the edge of the cliff looking down onto the waves crashing over the rocks below. Emotions flickered across his face – fear, pain, worry, confusion, despair and relief, relief that it would finally be all over.

The rain continued to pelt down, getting heavier by the minute, the skies were darkening and far off thunder echoed through the skies.

He jumped.


End file.
